May 29, 2007

More than 160 members from the business, government, education, not-for-profit, and general public attended a special event hosted by the Faculty of Education featuring guest speaker Jonathon Porritt, author of “Capitalism as if the World Matters”. A key goal for the event was to help build a bridge between the business and education sectors to develop human and social capital. Among the attendees of the event were Vancouver city councilor Peter Ladner, Adrian Carr, co-deputy leader of the Green Party of Canada, Milton Wong, past SFU Chancellor Emeritus, and dean of education, Paul Shaker.

“Environmental education and communication is crucial to developing our capacity to be a sustainable society,” said Zandvliet, an assistant professor and coordinator of the Environmental and Ecological Education master’s program in the Faculty of Education who was a panel respondent at the event. “Environmental and sustainability education is crucial for all professionals in that it allows us to critique our cultural norms and to reinvent how we do business -- this includes a critique of how we envision an education which can produce more ecologically literate citizens.”

Zandvliet recently headed the development of “Environmental Learning and Experience: An Interdisciplinary Guide for Teachers” which provides guidelines and identifies educational resources within the environmental and ecological education context for educators in conjunction with BC Ministry of Education guidelines.  The framework reiterates how all professionals including tomorrow’s business leaders need to understand the complexity of environmental issues, reflect deeply on these and then move toward taking responsible actions which will lead ultimately to an environmental ethic - in schools and in the broader community.

Zandvliet’s message is echoed in his master’s degree program Learning Environments in Environmental and Ecological Education, a two-year program in curriculum and instruction designed to address issues related to concepts of environmental and ecological education. For more information about this program and other ecological education programs in the Faculty of Education, go to www.educ.sfu.ca/ee

The “Sustainability – Whose business is it anyway?” event was made possible as part of the 30 Days of Sustainability activities sponsored by Alcan and Coast Capital Savings. Event partners included Dialogue Programs, Imagine BC, Centre for Sustainable Community Development, walkingthetalk network, Principals’ and Vice Principals’ Association, Vancouver Board of Trade and the BC Business Council.